UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1

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Celebrating 50 Years of Transportation Research ExcellenceThe U-M Transportation Research Institute is celebrating a half-century of making transportation safe and carrying out research that has had an impact on the lives of road users around the world.

MTRI research findings have influenced public policies, safety regula-tions, industry standards,

and product design, all leading to safer highway travel and lives saved.

The institute plans a yearlong anniversary celebration, which officially began January 11 at a special UMTRI reception held at the Transportation Research Board’s 94th annual meeting and will continue throughout the year with special events featur-ing UMTRI researchers and their university collaborators.

“We are using this anniversary as a springboard for the future. UMTRI is looking forward to its next half-cen-tury of impactful and transformative research,” said Peter Sweatman, UMTRI’s director since September 2004.

UMTRI started in 1965 as the Highway Safety Research Institute (HSRI) and was founded through a gift to the university from the auto-

motive industry. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, as well as the Automobile Manufactur-ers Association and Fruehauf Corp., contributed a total of $10 million.

The responsibility for forming the new institute was given to vice president for research A. Geoffrey Norman.

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INSIDE…3 ..............................Publications Milestone

3 ..............................Top Ten UMTRI Reports

4 ..............................Data-Driven Approach

8 ..............................UMTRI part of Nationwide Study on Safety of Older Drivers

9 ..............................Safeguards for Soldiers

10 ............................ Names & Faces: TRB 2015

11 ............................ Recent UMTRI Publications

12 ............................ UMTRI In The News

12 ............................ Upcoming Events

2 RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1

Celebrating 50 Years of Transportation Research Excellence(Continued from page 1)

He appointed an ad hoc program-advisory committee compris-ing twelve faculty members, with Robert L. Hess, professor of engineering mechanics, as its chairman. Hess subsequently was appointed HSRI’s first director (1966-83). Other directors include Jim O’Day (acting director 1983-85), Howard Bunch (acting di-rector 1985-86), Robert Ervin (acting director 1986-89), Patricia Waller (1989-2000), and Barry Kantowitz (2000-04).

HSRI’s initial mission was to analyze the elements of the complex and dynamic system of people, vehicles, and the environments in which they operate, and to develop practical and effective solutions to the urgent problems of highway safety within that system. Programs were designed to encourage comprehensive and integrated approaches to highway safety through interdisci-plinary research.

In late 1982 the institute’s name was changed to the U-M Trans-portation Research Institute to more accurately reflect the broad array of transportation issues that the staff had targeted as topics for research investigation.

Researchers within UMTRI continue to pursue the goals stated in the original mission by means of projects that emphasize the diversity of disciplines involved in transportation research.

“For fifty years our work has focused on the most critical issues in transportation-safety research,” Sweatman said. “Throughout our history we have maintained a structure that requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Our researchers are experts in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, behavioral sciences, statisti-cal analysis and public-policy analysis, and today, connected vehicles.”

In one of its most recent milestones, UMTRI was chosen by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2012 to lead the largest on-road test of connected-vehicle technology in the world, repre-senting a significant leap forward in vehicle safety. Known as the Safety Pilot Model Deployment, the project instrumented nearly 3,000 vehicles in the Ann Arbor area with wireless devices that communicate with each other and to infrastructure in an effort to reduce motor vehicle crashes.

As Safety Pilot leader, UMTRI was instrumental in the creation of the Mobility Transformation Center in 2014. The MTC is a public/private R&D partnership that will lead a revolution in mobility by developing the foundations for a commercially viable ecosystem of connected and automated vehicles. As part of this effort, a 32-acre “mini-city” designed expressly for testing con-nected and automated vehicle systems, and other emerging 21st-century smart city technologies, is taking shape on the University of Michigan’s North Campus. M City will be officially launched during UMTRI’s 50th year.

Publications MilestoneUMTRI reports downloaded more than 1.5 million times

Over the years UMTRI researchers have conducted more than 1,000 projects, which have in turn resulted in

a widely accessed series of publications.

According to Charles Watkinson, associ-ate university librarian for publishing at the University of Michigan, UMTRI reports have been downloaded over 1.5 million times from U-M’s digital repository, Deep Blue.

“This is a tremendous milestone and is evi-dence of the importance of the work being done at UMTRI,” said Watkinson. “UMTRI reports are one of the most downloaded

report series of any college or institute at the University of Michigan. In 2013, UMTRI reports were downloaded an average of 9,500 a month.”

“People continue to download reports in large numbers from all points in UMTRI’s history,” said Robert Sweet, information resources manager at UMTRI. “In 2014, the top ten reports downloaded included work from the seventies, eighties, nineties, as well as that of the current year. What this tells me is that our work has had value and continued impact,” said Sweet.

UMTRI director Peter Sweatman an-nounced this significant achievement at the Transportation Research Board’s 94th annual meeting in January. “UMTRI is a premiere leader in transportation safety research. For fifty years UMTRI’s research has had impact on the lives of drivers around the world. Our research findings are found in policies, regulations, and products designed to save lives.”

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Top Ten* UMTRI Reports# Mortality from road crashes in 193 countries: a comparison with other leading causes of deathhttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/102731

#Analysis of accident rates by age, gender, and time of day based on the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. Final reporthttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1007

#The Indian automobile industry - a primer describing its evolution and current statehttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1025

#Material selection processes in the automotive industryhttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1034

#Recent changes in the age composition of drivers in 15 countrieshttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/86680

#An evaluation of the changes in the legal drinking ages in Michigan. Final reporthttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/417

#United States shipbuilding standards master plan updatehttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1185

#The Japanese automotive industry: recent developments and future competitive outlookhttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1064

#Has motorization in the U.S. peaked?http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/98098

# Brake force requirement study: driver-vehicle braking performance as a function of brake system design variableshttp://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/1354

*As reflected solely by the number of downloads

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Data-Driven ApproachUMTRI researchers embrace technology to gather, manage, and analyze data

Whether simple or complex, data is a part of daily life. It underscores everything we do, deepening our insight and understanding and allowing us to make sound

decisions. In the fast-moving world of transportation, gathering and analyzing data has been an important part of UM-TRI’s work for fifty years.

From 1965 to the present, UMTRI research-ers have been at the forefront of transpor-tation-data collection, management, and analysis. They build databases to manage crash data, collect driving data via field tests and simulations, build state-of-the-art computer models to enhance vehicle safety, and create cutting-edge data-analysis and access tools to answer increasingly complex research questions.

“We used to ask about outcomes in crashes: What happened and why?” says UMTRI statistician Carol Flannagan. “Now we’re asking about crash avoidance: How can crashes be prevented? What are drivers thinking or attending to? This wouldn’t have been possible without the spectacular prog-ress that’s been made in transportation-data collection, management, and analysis.”

Below are just a few of the many ways that transportation-data management, technol-ogy, and analysis have evolved at UMTRI over the past fifty years.

Managing Crash DataUMTRI’s Charlie Compton remembers a time in the early 1970s when motor-vehicle accident data arrived at UMTRI on paper from teams around the United States. In

fact, Compton says, he was hired full time to help work a federally funded project to computerize collision report and injury forms, or accident reports. The job required some serious manpower.

“There was a room on the third floor where all the coders were, maybe ten or so, whose job was to code the collision report forms to get the data computerized,” recalls Comp-ton. “Those were the days of mainframes and punch-cards.”

As part of this endeavor, several colleagues created the first automated data access and analysis system (ADAAS) for crash data at HSRI in 1970, which was operational for more than two decades. Compton used this tool extensively in his work and eventually became manager of UMTRI’s successful and long-running Transportation Data Center. The Data Center evolved into a stand-alone unit in the early 1980’s for crash-data analy-ses and it has recently evolved again into the Center for Management of Information for Safe and Sustainable Transportation (CMISST).

Today, Compton still manages incoming crash data and also consults and col-laborates with industry, government, and academic researchers on data quality and use. Among his activities, he is a member of the crash-data users group that helped state officials design updated crash-report forms, which are currently almost all electronic in Michigan. (The state is viewed as a model for crash data collection, analysis, and management.)

Advancements in technology have also had a significant impact on data quantity, says Compton: “When I first started, I could

only work with a small random sample of state crash data. Now I can fit an entire year of Michigan crash data on a thumb drive. That has made the process a lot easier.”

Over the years, just about every UMTRI research group has relied at some point on crash data and analysis. “At one time, crash data was a part of every research project,” says Compton.

Now, however, new technologies and the availability of new data types and sources have allowed researchers to broaden their approach to solving some of transportation’s toughest challenges, one of which is safety.

Digital Human ModelingFor several decades, three crash-test dum-mies—representing data on a mid-sized male, small female, and large male—formed the foundation for crash testing and vehicle-safety research at UMTRI and similar labs around the country.

Today, in UMTRI’s Biosciences Group, associate research scientist Jingwen Hu sits in front of two large computer monitors showing multicolor variations of the human body in seated, in-vehicle positions. Hu created the models by combining multiple data sources representing external human-body measurements as well as internal body geometry.

“Technology has really changed what we can do,” says Hu. “In the past, tape mea-sures, calipers, and other simple apparatus were used to collect anthropometric data. Nowadays we use a 3-D scanner. In twelve seconds, we can generate a three-dimen-sional image of the whole body.”

In 2015, a series of articles in the UMTRI Research Review will highlight the technological and cultural progress in four key areas impacting transportation safety—data collection and analysis, occupant protection, the lifecycle of driving and drivers, and connected technology.

RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 5

The laser scans—combined with data from thousands of medical images of bone and soft tissue geometries—allow the research-ers to generate computerized models of different-sized people, which they can then run through crash simulations. The models show how people of various ages, sizes, and body shapes are injured in vehicle crashes and give the researchers a better under-standing of vulnerability.

Hu and his team have found, for example, that obese people fare worse in frontal crashes than the typical mid-sized male, which has formed the basis for crash-test dummies for several decades. The focus now, he says, is on these vulnerable popula-tions to get a better idea of how people are injured, which could one day lead to vehicles with adaptive safety restraints.

“So the data nowadays is really to codify the physical differences among people,” says Hu. “If we have that, we can develop an injury-assessment tool that accounts for the variation in the population. We want to protect more than just mid-size males.”

Driving Simulator DataIn the early 1980s, a Commodore 64 computer with a tape drive controlled one of UMTRI’s first driving simulators. “It wasn’t fancy,” recalls research professor Paul Green, “but it solved our research needs.”

The homespun technology, which featured an instrumented mock-up of a Ford Escort, allowed UMTRI researchers to conduct simple tracking tasks projected onto a screen that “looked a little like driving at night,” says Green. Though rudimentary, the driving data would have been impos-sible or too dangerous to gather on actual roadways.

Fast forward to 2012 when a state-of-the art driving simulator was installed in a specially adapted facility on UMTRI’s second floor. Assistant research scientist Anuj Pradhan is one of the scientists who frequently use the high-tech facility. He says that contem-porary simulators benefit not only from the enormous advances in general processing power but also from improvements in visual displays, image generators, and graphical systems. This allows researchers to increase the scope of simulation studies in terms of the types, complexities, and duration of drives, and can inject a much higher level of realism and ecological validity.

“These advances also generate much larger volumes of data,” says Pradhan, “but, hap-pily, they also allow for higher data-collec-tion capabilities and the ability to meld and link disparate data sources using advanced data-management techniques.”

The heart of UMTRI’s new driving simula-tor is the software used to generate and control traffic scenarios. Ten separate computers control the simulator, which also features seven image generators. To run the simulator, UMTRI technicians must first create a virtual world, which includes roads, intersections, buildings, the movement of vehicles, and even pedestrians.

As test subjects operate the vehicle within this virtual world, a data-acquisition system simultaneously collects data on many variables related to the vehicle’s movement, including speed, heading, location, accel-eration, position of other objects, and even driver eye-gaze data.

The data-acquisition system records vari-ables from the simulator’s eye-tracking sys-tem and other sources, including six chan-nels of video and two channels of audio, and synchronizes all these data for analysis and review. A common time reference allows all objective measures to be synchronized so data analysis is more efficient than ever before.

Driving simulator data can be coupled with other data, such as physiological activity, brain function, or hormone levels, to test a broad variety of hypotheses. In one ongoing study, for example, UMTRI researchers are examining the brain activity of drivers using a brain-imaging technique known as fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy). They measure brain activity (via blood oxy-genation levels) in the cortical regions of the brain via relatively unintrusive instrumenta-tion and apparatus.

“We are studying teenage drivers’ brain activities under different driving conditions and passenger conditions to understand differences in prefrontal cortex activities,”

Courtesy Jingwen Hu, UMTRI Biosciences Group

Credit: UMTRI Young Driver Behavior and Injury Prevention Group

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explains Pradhan. “We are also studying the differences between healthy and ADHD drivers in terms of brain activation while driving.”

Automated-vehicle research also relies to a great extent upon driving simulations, says Pradhan. “Automated vehicles are soon going to be a reality on our roadways,” he explains, “but the safety impact is quite un-known. Because we don’t have data from au-tomated vehicles on the road yet, we can use simulated automated vehicles and gather crucial, empirical, human-behavioral data in this safe and controlled environment, even before the first automated vehicle hits the road.”

Value and Life Cycle of DataAs the world has progressed technologi-cally, especially in the area of intelligent transportation systems, the volume of data has grown exponentially. Over time, the UMTRI-led Safety Pilot connected-vehicle project generated a massive twenty-three terabytes of data (representing 84 billion basic safety messages), as communication devices in approximately 2,800 vehicles recorded near-constant data such as vehicle position, speed, and heading, and in some cases, driver alerts.

Storing and processing this amount of incoming data was a daunting task. UM-TRI’s Engineering Systems Group (ESG) developed the data infrastructure. Associate research scientist David LeBlanc explains that these data are loaded into very large databases designed and administered onsite by ESG. The data are now being used by the U.S. Department of Transportation, UM-TRI, other University of Michigan research-ers, and are also shared with over thirty organizations on four continents, helping to advance the science of safe mobility.

The impact of data comes from understand-ing, explains LeBlanc, which leads to ways in which researchers or others can more easily characterize, measure, predict, inter-act with, and change a phenomenon.

“We have server racks with lots of terabytes. Terabytes are cool and necessary, but they aren’t the goal,” says LeBlanc. “The goal is to get data on the process or phenomenon, and to turn the data into knowledge that will save lives or impact society in other positive ways.”

For instance, he explains, if we have sig-natures—or surrogate measures—for safe driving, we need only collect those signa-tures and not data from the entire period of driving. If researchers know how a heavy vehicle with three trailers rolls over, they can create simulations and use a handful of tests to populate models for that simulation, and learn when roll-stability technology can or cannot help prevent a rollover.

“We won’t need to do hundreds of tests—just enough to populate the models with parameters,” says LeBlanc. “Therefore a large research-data-collection program often makes itself obsolete: as understand-ing grows, data collection can become more targeted and efficient, and soon it moves out into the world and researchers move on to the next topic.”

Sharing and Linking DataOn UMTRI’s fourth floor, statistical-analysis experts Carol Flannagan and Jonathan Rupp are approaching modern data from yet another perspective—that of linking large datasets and expanding the capacity of scientists to access the data. Together they lead one of UMTRI’s newest initiatives, the Center for the Management of Information

for Safe and Sustainable Transportation. CMISST is a data center that gathers, stores, standardizes, and combines all types of transportation datasets, including data col-lected by UMTRI, and provides web-based tools for automated dataset generation.

In terms of linking data, or merging distinct datasets, recent CMISST research accomplishments have included developing roadmaps for linking crash data to hospi-tal and EMS data to create a richer, more robust dataset that defines serious injury. In terms of data access, they’re working with UMTRI’s large datasets on naturalistic driv-ing studies conducted over many years to create common access points, or metadata management systems.

Because transportation data is very techni-cal and essentially “hard to use,” says Flan-nagan, CMISST focuses on building tools that enable data sharing.

“The current model of data access for big transportation data is through expert ser-vices to query the data,” explains Flannagan. “Although UMTRI has the experts here, we’re developing software that makes it pos-sible for researchers to have direct access to the data.”

Credit: UMTRI

RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 7

While it’s a significant investment up front, she points out, eventually this method will allow equal access to data, not just access to those who can pay for it.

“Transportation datasets in general are developed from large-scale, costly studies,” she says. “You won’t reap the full value of the data unless it’s shared with wide audi-ences. Part of the benefit is also innovation: Other researchers might analyze these data in ways that we hadn’t thought of.”

So, what’s next in the realm of data, and specifically transportation data at UMTRI?

“The next frontier is data integration,” says Flannagan. “Data is typically collected in silos, so to speak, with different data types collected for specific purposes with their own parameters. Once you can provide a common access point and then link those datasets together, the possibilities of what you can accomplish multiply quickly.”

Other Types of Data at UMTRI # Naturalistic Driving Data UMTRI has developed large driver-vehicle databases since the mid-1990s. These not only answer specific questions about the systems being tested (e.g., adaptive cruise control, crash-avoidance systems), but also contain a rich resource of general driving data, representing how people drive in the real world. Current information represents approximately 34 million vehicle miles traveled, and much of this data is highly detailed, containing hundreds of signals measured from the subject vehicle, radar measurements of nearby vehicles, and video data of both the forward scene and

the driver’s activities. (The largest of these datasets was acquired from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment.)

# Vehicle Safety Analytics DataThe Vehicle Safety Analytics Group (VSA) has established itself as an authoritative international resource on vehicle safety and crash data. Its Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics was the ultimate source for heavy vehicle accident data, as was the Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents report series. VSA’s heavy-truck and bus crash files are the most comprehensive and accurate data available. The data are used for a variety of needs, including assessing the probable impact of new technology, and supporting the regulatory process by providing targeted analysis for government officials.

# Behavioral Traffic Safety DataUMTRI behavioral sciences researchers have pioneered numerous methods of field data collection in projects that have ranged from unobtrusive identification of occupant restraint system use to driver interviews and vehicle and equipment inspections. Led by research professor David W. Eby, the team has developed new methodologies for efficient field data collection, including the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the collection of field data at night utilizing specialized night-vision equip-ment. The team has developed specialized algorithms for estimating traffic crashes in Michigan by county, developed the first statewide booster seat study, and maintains nationally-requested survey data.

# Road Roughness DataSenior research associate Steve Karamihas and others have compiled the most com-prehensive databases on the roughness of roads to help vehicle manufacturers design vehicles with better ride quality and to help road agencies understand the variations in road surfaces. But, more importantly, the data enables the researchers to build models to study road-vehicle interactions, such as how the change in a road’s roughness over time might signal different types of immi-nent pavement failure.

# Spatial DatabasesSenior research engineer Michelle Barnes oversees a set of spatial databases including road-network digital maps that have been used widely within UMTRI to link location data, such as GPS data, with information about roads or environments. This enables researchers to get insight into such things as the differences in driver behaviors on freeways versus surface streets; characteris-tics of roads that are associated with higher crash rates; effects of grade on fuel econo-my; and safety at intersections.

The current model of data access for big transportation data is through expert services to query the data. Although UMTRI has the experts here, we’re developing software that makes it possible for researchers to have direct access to the data. Carol Flannagan

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UMTRI Part of Nationwide Study on Safety of Older Drivers The U-M Transportation Research Institute is one of five national test sites selected by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to address the well-being of older drivers

Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (Lon-gROAD) is a five-year $12 million project that will allow researchers to better

understand the role of physical and cogni-tive functions, medical conditions, medica-tions, and vehicle technologies in driving safety.

Researchers will also examine how older drivers self-regulate to avoid difficult driv-ing conditions, and the causes and conse-quences of driving cessation.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety awarded two separate contracts for the project—one to UMTRI and the other to Columbia University, which funds other test sites in New York, Maryland, Colorado, and California.

David Eby, research professor and head of UMTRI’s Behavioral Sciences Group, is a co-principal investigator of the overall proj-ect, along with Robert Santos of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Guohua Li of Columbia University is the principal investigator.

The Michigan site principal investigators are Lisa Molnar, associate research scientist in UMTRI’s Behavioral Sciences Group, and Lindsay Ryan, assistant research scientist at the Survey Research Center in U-M’s Institute for Social Research.

“Like most people, older adults consider driving to be essential to independence and well-being,” Eby said. “With aging, however, comes a higher likelihood of medical condi-tions that can affect safe driving ability.

“Thus, it is important for society to both help older adults continue driving for as long as they can safely do so and to help people stay mobile once they have decided to stop driving. This multistate project will provide much needed information to help us solve this pressing societal issue.”

Researchers at U-M, Columbia, Johns Hop-kins University, University of California-San Diego, University of Colorado-Denver, the Urban Institute and the Bassett Research Institute will recruit 3,000 active drivers ages 65 to 79 at five study sites—600 drivers at each site.

They will follow these drivers over time through annual assessments and interviews, and will fit each driver’s vehicle with a GPS device to learn about their driving patterns.

Eby, Molnar and Ryan will work with Dr. Raymund Yung and Linda Nyquist of the U-M Institute of Gerontology to recruit age-eligible participants from U-M medical clinics.

Each participant’s car will be fitted with an automatic data-collection device that will record where the vehicle is being driven and some other vehicle-based data. All naturalistic driving data for all sites will be processed at UMTRI by the Behavioral Sci-ences and Engineering Systems groups.

All participants will engage in a compre-hensive assessment of physical, mental and perceptual functioning every two years; have their vehicles visually inspected every other year; complete a questionnaire on health, well-being, attitudes, and driving ev-ery year; and have all driving trips recorded. The project will also collect medical, crash and driving-history records for all partici-pants.

Pilot testing of about twenty-five drivers will begin at UMTRI early this year and will last for three months before the actual study is launched.

By Bernie DeGroat, Michigan News

Courtesy of NHTSA

RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 9

Safeguards for SoldiersResearch results have the potential to transform military vehicles

A U.S. Army vehicle with five soldiers aboard maneuvers along a bar-ren stretch in southern Afghanistan.

As the vehicle approaches a small village, a roadside bomb triggers underneath the military vehicle and sends it toppling over, severely injuring its occupants.

The scenario is no anomaly. U.S. Depart-ment of Defense records reveal that roadside bombs wounded more than 8,700 American troops in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012.

Those figures don’t sit well with Matthew P. Reed, a University of Michigan researcher who has devoted much of his recent efforts to improving safety measures for military personnel.

“Historically, outside of combat, most injuries and fatalities in the Army result from transportation,” said Reed, who heads UMTRI’s Biosciences Group. “And in recent combat operations, the number-one cause of death and disability is underbody blast caused by improvised explosive devices.”

His latest research focuses on the safety and comfort of seating aboard military vehicles.

Reed and his U-M colleagues collected data from more than 300 soldiers stationed at army bases in Kentucky, Texas, and Wash-ington, measuring dozens of variables as the soldiers sat in vehicle mockups.

A powerful laser scanner used to measure posture captured more than 500,000 data points on soldiers’ bodies within twelve sec-onds, which provided researchers further insight on their body dimensions.

“The soldiers who participate in these stud-ies understand very well what we’re trying to achieve,” he said. “They’ve been in these vehicles, worn the body armor and under-stand how hard it is get in and out. They

know that there’s room for improvement in these vehicles.”

That’s why the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineer-ing Center (TARDEC) agreed to fund the research project through the U-M Automo-tive Research Center.

Reed has conducted similar safety assess-ments for the automotive industry, but this particular research is unique in that it caters strictly to military personnel. That means taking into account body armor and body-borne gear, then determining how those items that weigh upwards of sixty pounds impact soldiers’ safety and comfort levels within a military vehicle.

“This if the first study that I’m aware of with actual data from actual soldiers that details how they sit in vehicles,” he said.

The results of Reed’s research—“The Seated Soldier Study: Posture and Body Shape in Vehicle Seats”—recently were released and have the potential to transform military vehicles.

“Ultimately, we want to see vehicles designed that provide better accommoda-tion for soldiers, so that they’re safer, less fatigued, and can perform better,” he said.

There also is a great deal of interest among industry partners, who hope to utilize this research for commercial purposes, Reed said.

“Our strategy is to engage as many people as we can in hopes of improving the design and assessment of military vehicles as quickly as possible,” he said.

By Alex Piazza, U-M Office of Research

“Our strategy is to engage as many people as we can in hopes of improving the design and assessment of military vehicles as quickly

as possible,”

Credit: UMTRI Biosciences Group

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MTRI researchers joined transporta-tion experts from around the world in January at the 94th annual meet-ing of the Transportation Research

Board (TRB), held in Washington, D.C. The TRB meeting covers all transportation modes, with more than 5,000 presentations in more than 750 sessions. UMTRI research faculty are active at multiple levels through-out the week—participating in topic ses-sions and committees, serving as presenters, moderators, panel discussants, and com-mittee officers and members. Following are highlights of UMTRI activities at TRB 2015:

# Advanced Vehicle Technologies and Occupant ProtectionResearch professor Matthew Reed pre-sented “Posture, Body Shape and Belt Fit for Obese and Elderly Drivers.”

# Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation Committee Ray Bingham serves as committee secretary. Assistant research scientist Lisa Buckley and research professor Jean Shope (member and former chair) also attended.

# Cyber Security Subcommittee Meeting; Critical Transportation Infrastructure Protection CommitteeAssociate research scien-tist Andre Weimerskirch presented “Solutions for Automotive Cyberse-curity: An Overview of Recent Approaches.”

# Distraction, Attention, and Driver PerformanceAssistant research scientist Shan Bao presented “Distracted Driving Performance Measures: A Spectral Power Analysis”

# Dynamic Network Modeling Research professor Henry Liu presided over the session. He also presented “Bound-edly Rational Travel Behavior: A Review of Models and Methodologies” in the session Networking Modeling.

# Effective Literature and Search Reviews: Tools and Tricks for the TradeInformation resources manager Bob Sweet participated as a discussion panel member.

# Ignite! Emerging Technologies in Traffic Signal SystemsResearch professor Henry Liu presented “Oversaturation Detection and Perfor-mance Metrics.” He also coauthored “Quasi-optimal Feedback Control for an Oversatu-rated Intersection with Maximum Queue Constraints,” presented in the session Signal System Operational Performance and Driver Behavior; coauthored the poster “Optimizing Coordination for Signalized Arterials with Separate Left-turn Phases” for the session Signal Timing Design and Optimization; and coauthored “Indifference Bands for Route Switching,” presented in the session Activity and Travel Behavior.

# Is Transportation Infrastructure Ready for Driverless Cars?UMTRI director Peter Sweatman presented “Connected Infrastructure to Support Auto-mated Driving.”

# Joint Subcommittee on Digital BillboardsAnuj Pradhan presented “Motor Vehicle Crashes and Digital Billboards in Michigan: An Epidemiological Study.”

Names & Faces

TRB 2015Experts gather for 94th meeting of Transportation Research Board

U

Recent UMTRI PublicationsMost UMTRI reports are available in full text online. See the website address at the end of the citation. Please contact the UMTRI Library at 734-764-2171 or umtridocs@umich.edu to inquire about the availability of other publications listed here.

Conference Papers Hu, J.; Fischer, K.; Lange, P.; Adler, A. 2015. Effects of Crash Pulse, Impact Angle, Occu-pant Size, Front Seat Location, and Restraint System on Rear Seat Occupant Protection. Society of Automotive Engineers technical paper number 2015-01-1453. Published April 14, 2015.

Journal Articles Buckley, L.; Watson, B. 2014. “Best Practice in Peer-Led Curriculum Content: Inform-ing an Interactive Program to Improve Pas-senger Safety among High School Seniors.” Proceedings of the 2014 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing & Education Con-ference, November 12-14, 2014, Melbourne, Australia.http://eprints.qut.edu.au/79320/3/79320.pdf

Chapman, R.L.; Buckley, L.; Reveruzzi, B.; Sheehan, M. “Injury Prevention among Friends: The Benefits of School Connect-edness.” Journal of Adolescence, vol. 37,

no. 6, August 2014, pp. 937–944. DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.06.009

Hu, J.; Klinich, K.D. 2015. “Toward Design-ing Pedestrian-Friendly Vehicles.” Interna-tional Journal of Vehicle Safety, vol. 8, no. 1, 2015. pp. 22-54.DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2015.066272

Hu, J.; Manary, M.; Klinich, K.D.; Reed, M.P. 2014. “Evaluation of ISO CRS Enve-lopes Relative to U.S. Vehicles and Child Restraint Systems.” Traffic Injury Preven-tion, Accepted author version posted online February 9, 2015.DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2015.1014550

Twisk, D.; Commandeur, J.J.F.; Bos, N.; Shope, J.T.; Kok, G. 2014. “Quantifying the Influence of Safe Road Systems and Legal Licensing Age on Road Mortality among Young Adolescents: Steps towards System Thinking.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol. 74, January 2015, pp. 306–313.DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.021

Technical Reports Flannagan, C.A.C.; Bowman, P.J. 2014. Analysis of Motorcycle Crashes in Michigan 2009-2013. Report no. UMTRI-2014-35. http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/109726

The research documented in this report was sponsored by the Michigan State Police Of-fice of Highway Safety Planning.

Schoettle, B.; Sivak, M. 2014. Public Opinion about Self-Driving Vehicles in China, India, Japan, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. Report no. UMTRI-2014-30.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/109433The research documented in this report was sponsored by UMTRI’s Sustainable World-wide Transportation program.

Sivak, M. 2014. Has Motorization in the U.S. Peaked? Part 6: Relationship between Road Transportation and Economic Activity. Report no. UMTRI-2014-36.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/110116The research documented in this report was sponsored by UMTRI’s Sustainable World-wide Transportation program.

Woodrooffe, J. 2014. Reducing Truck Fuel Use and Emissions: Tires, Aerodynamics, Engine Efficiency, and Size and Weight Regu-lations. Report no. UMTRI-2014-27.http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/109749The research documented in this report was sponsored by UMTRI’s Sustainable World-wide Transportation program.

RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 11

# Operator Education and Regulation Committee MeetingRay Bingham and Anuj Pradhan pre-sented “Connected and Automated Vehicle Systems: State of the Art and Relevance for Teen Driver Research.”

# Research on Safe & Unsafe DrivingAssistant research scientist Lisa Buckley presided over the session.

# The Road Safety Implications of Unlicensed Driving and Strategies to Address the ProblemResearch professor C. Raymond Bingham presented “The Association of Unlicensed Driving and Other Problem Behaviors Among Teen Drivers.”

# Teenage Driving: Latest Findings on Key TopicsAssistant research scientist Anuj Pradhan was a co-presenter of the papers “System-atic Review of Epidemiological Studies on Young Drivers’ Crash Risk with Passen-gers: Final Results” and “Review of Hazard Recognition Training Programs for Young Drivers.”

# Truck Size and Weight CommitteeResearch scientist John Woodrooffe pre-sided over the meeting.

# When Seniors Transition from DrivingAssociate research scientist Lisa Molnar was discussion panel leader for the session.

Research professor David W. Eby was a discussion panel member.

# Safe Mobility of Older Persons CommitteeLisa Molnar serves as secretary of the com-mittee. She is also a general member of the Committee on Education and Training.

# Young Driver Subcommittee Ray Bingham serves as subcommittee secretary. Lisa Buckley, Anuj Pradhan, and Jean Shope (member and former chair) also attended the meeting.

Experts gather for 94th meeting of Transportation Research Board

12 RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1

Upcoming Events Aging in America ConferenceMarch 23-27; Chicago, Illinois, http://www.asaging.org/aia

Michigan Traffic Safety SummitMarch 24-26; East Lansing, Michigan, http://www.michigan.gov/msp

Automotive Cyber Security SummitMarch 30-April 1; Detroit, Michigan, http://www.automotivecybersecurity.com/

AASHTO GIS for Transportation SymposiumApril 19-22; Des Moines, Iowa, http://www.gis-t.org/

SAE World Congress & ExhibitionApril 21-23; Detroit, Michigan, http://www.sae.org/congress

UMTRI In The News# Driverless vehicles: Fewer cars, more mileshttp://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/22677-driverless-vehicles-fewer-cars-more-milesUniversity of Michigan, 2-11-2015

# Vehicle fuel economy at highest mark since last summer http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/22667-vehicle-fuel-economy-at-highest-mark-since-last-summerUniversity of Michigan 2-5-2015

# What the I-94 pileup can teach you about driving in winter weatherhttp://michiganradio.org/post/what-i-94-pileup-can-teach-you-about-driving-winter-weatherMichigan Radio, 1-20-2015

# Fleets turning to video, big data to lower riskhttp://www.ccjdigital.com/fleets-turning-to-video-big-data-to-lower-risk/Commercial Carrier Journal, 1-20-2015

# Big trucks and fast cars drawing a lot of attention at the Detroit showhttp://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2015/01/rick_haglund.htmlMLive, 1-18-2015

# U-M’s cityscape will test driverless vehicleshttp://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/22608-u-m-s-cityscape-will-test-driverless-vehiclesUniversity of Michigan 1-14-2015

# Expert: Parents have power to influence teen drivershttp://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/auto-leadership/2015/01/07/toyota-sayer-teen-safe-driving/21361999/Detroit Free Press, 1-10-2015

# The fatter crash test dummies that could save liveshttp://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150107-fat-models-that-could-save-livesBBC News, 1-8-2015

# Harsher distracted driving regulations and penalties needed in 2015http://www.technologytell.com/ap-ple/144715/harsher-distracted-driving-regulations-penalties-needed-2015/TechnologyTell, 1-1-2015

RESEARCH REVIEW | JANUARY–MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1 13

Publication InformationUniversity of Michigan Transportation Research InstituteUMTRI Research ReviewJanuary-March 2015Volume 46, Number 1

ISSN pending

UMTRI Director: Peter F. SweatmanUMTRI Associate Director: Lawrence SchneiderUMTRI Business Administrator: Cathy Seay-OstrowskiUMTRI Communications and Marketing Director: Francine RomineUMTRI Information Resources Manager: Bob Sweet

Writer and Editor: Joyce Daniels

Layout and design: Graphikitchen, LLC

The UMTRI Research Review is published four times a year by the Research Information and Publications Center of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 2901 Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150. The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and Title IX/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office for Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388, institutional.equity@umich.edu.

The Regents of the UniversityMark J. Bernstein, Ann ArborJulia Donovan Darlow, Ann ArborLaurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield HillsShauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse PointeDenise Ilitch, Bingham FarmsAndrea Fischer Newman, Ann ArborAndrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe ParkKatherine E. White, Ann ArborMark S. Schlissel, ex officio

UMTRI’s Strategic IntentTo be the leader in transportation systems research integrating vehicles, people, and infrastructure to achieve a highway transportation system where:

• Fatalities and injuries are eliminated

• People and goods flow efficiently

• Reliance on nonrenewable energy is reduced

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